Level of knowledge of the new Spanish law on euthanasia among healthcare professionals and students

Eva Peguero, Maria Rodriguez Barragan, Laura Repiso, Yolanda Rando, Aida Molero

Keywords: euthanasia; knowledge; health care professionals; students

Background:

Organic Law 3/2021 of March 24 regulates the right to euthanasia in the Spanish state and provides a legal, systematic and guaranteeing response to social demand. This new benefit is being conducted in Catalonia where the number of euthanasia is growing progressively.

Research questions:

What is the level of knowledge of health professionals and medical and nursing students about the new Spanish law on euthanasia?

Method:

Cross-sectional study using a self-administered online survey of 24 questions aimed at health professionals and medical and nursing students in Catalonia.
Descriptive analysis, comparative analysis of scores obtained according to profession and the number of cases of euthanasia in which they have participated using the ANOVA test with Bonferroni postestimation method for independent groups.

Results:

547 respondents, 70.4% of whom were doctors and 71% of whom worked in Primary Care (PC). 58.7% had never been involved in any case of euthanasia. 231 (42.2%) participants scored ≥ 20 (out of 24 points). Mean score was 18.7 (SD 3.8) for doctors, 17.7 (SD 5.1) for nurses and 14.2 for students (p<0.001). Regarding workplace, mean score was 18.7 (SD 3.6) for PC professionals and 16.9 (SD 4.9) for hospital professionals (p<0.001). Mean score was 16.6 (SD 4.6) for those who were never involved in any euthanasia case, whereas it was 19.5 (SD 3.6) (p<0.001) for those who had participated in at least one case.

Conclusions:

Health professionals have an insufficient knowledge about the euthanasia law. Doctors and professionals working in PC are the most knowledgeable professional group. Those professionals who have been involved in at least one euthanasia case show a greater knowledge of the law.

Points for discussion:

What are the reasons why health professionals and students are unfamiliar with the euthanasia law?

Is experience an appropriate way to learn about the law of euthanasia?

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